Mission in Venezuela October 2006

I arrived to Punto Fijo via Caracas on the 29th of September to start my third mission in Venezuela. Punto Fijo is an oil production city on the north Caribbean coast of the country. A beautiful city with many enthusiastic Catholics and very hot weather. Temperatures where high during the weekend I was there.
I was welcomed by a priest and a group of lay people called "Couples for Christ" that was founded in Brazil and now is part of the Catholic church worldwide.
We started the next day with a retreat for the whole day in which I presented first my testimony of conversion, the central matter of my mission, and thereafter we went on to different topics like Divine Infancy relating it to the dying to self and the becoming like children in order to enter the Kingdom of God. We spoke about being true soldiers of Christ and about the mystery of the silence of the Cross. We agreed on setting up a retreat for the upcoming lent in March.

Sunday I was taken to Coro; the city for my next mission. This is a pretty city that is a little more commercial and industrial. There I was welcomed by a group of ladies who prepared a very busy mission and was given shelter by an Italian family who have a special dedication to the hearts of Jesus and Mary.
It was a true Joy to be with them. I preached in a few different parishes and we had a very anointed journey consecrating the whole nation to the Lord Jesus and our Lady the Virgin Mary. Everybody was intensely supplicating to the Lord for a new Venezuela, for the end of the evil ruling of the devil. I left with my heart filled with hope after sharing with a people of God that was humble and repented, willing to fight hard for the goodness of the Gospel amongst them.

Next, I traveled to the city of Barquisimeto, mainly a business city with a Marian center that houses the largest marian devotion in a nearby town: Our Lady Divine Shepper. I was told that over two million pilgrims gather every year for her feast day. It is known as one of the largest Marian congregations in the Church worldwide.
I missioned with a group of laity who are highly committed to sheltering abandoned children; some who were left by parents who couldn't take care of them, others were left by people that did not love them, who just left them behind. It is a magnificent act of charity, it made me very sad and yet very happy, because of the contrast with human misery at its lowest and God's Mercy in its splendor. One has to cry before such a scenery, but one has to remember also that these children are not the only ones abandoned.

I moved on to the city of Valencia where I teamed up with the lay group who was responsible for organizing my mission in Venezuela this time. We were happy to meet again. right away we engaged in prayer, consecrating the next three days of the mission. We had a weekend retreat and were able to touch many hearts that were truly hungry for Jesus. It is a very beautiful thing to see so many people truly attentive to every detail that The Holy Spirit has for them. They work hard at asking many questions after the talks and deep reflections took place for long sessions.
The whole mission was blessed by a spirit of hope and conversion and also like in many other cities in the country at this time, a spirit of supplication for the freedom of the country from the hands of the evil one. We received very reliable information about the fact that the actual president and part of his cabinet is consecrated to an African cult called Babalao which deals with very heavy magic, spiritualism and divination. It is said that they consecrate the whole country every month to Satan but they name the demons with the name of saints, something that is known as Santeria, which is supposed to be Fidel Castro's cult also. It is the official satanic spirituality of Cuban nationals. The stories about it are endless and beyond scary. We Catholics truly need to unite and pray for a change in the upcoming elections of that country.

I traveled to Caracas and held four different venues in parishes and convents. It is a city of beautiful cathedrals and churches of all kinds. Churches are presently full to capacity in all of masses around town, daily and on Sunday masses. One will guess that it is due to the pressure of the times they are enduring, but I'll add that it is also a feverous people and it is time for a special spiritual battle where every spiritual weapon has come out and has to be put to use. Even though it is sad to see people go through what Venezuelans are going through, it is somehow a great experience to share this moment due to the seriousness of the battle they are fighting, so the whole ground is trembling and prayers are powerful, filled with the Spirit of God. One can sense the wings of Mercy hovering all around the faithful.
I truly felt the blessings everywhere of a Faithful God who never abandons His people.

From Caracas I flew to the Caribbean Isle of Margarita, a very beautiful vacationers place for locals and tourist from all over the globe.
I had a very blessed mission of three days giving a day retreat at a Catholic school which was open to everyone, and then a few other talks in different churches and prayer groups. There was no much difference with the rest of the country with the urgency of prayer for a drastic change in the nation. I teamed up with their intentions and dedicated every venue for the liberation of the country. We plan on setting up a retreat for the upcoming lent God willing.

I returned to Colombia on the 15th of October where I'm presently missioning until the 31st.